System from PDC Europe (Austin, TX) offers variable power rating from 49 to 60 kW and also includes a water softener, temperature indicator, steam extraction motor, and condensate collection tray. The unit features steam nozzles that are easily adjustable to put the shrink where it is needed even on containers of complex geometries. The first installation for the system occurred three months ago in France in Fall ’02 where it is used to obtain tight shrinkage of a full-body sleeve label applied over a shaped ketchup bottle. Rates for the sleeved ketchup bottles are reported at 130 sleeved bottles/min.
